Blood Ties
by Hermione Granger - Top mind at Hogwarts
Summary: Harry donates blood to help save his cousin's life and passes on more than blood....
1. Chapter 1

Blood Ties

Chapter 1 Petunia's Plea

The room was silent, save for the fervent scratching of quill against parchment and the occasional turn of the page of a spellbook. Harry's brow furrowed in concentration, his jaw set, the tip of his tongue peeking out from between his lips. His fingers were covered in ink from doing his homework, and as he took a moment to stretch, the bones in his neck and back cracked in protest.

From her cage, Hedwig hooted softly, her golden eyes gazing intently at Harry and seeming to implore him to pay some attention to her.

"Hedwig, if I don't finish my homework now while Uncle Vernon and Dudley are out, I'm never going to finish it. You know that we're going to Ron's tomorrow and I never get any work done while I'm there," Taking a short break from his homework, he went over to Hedwig's cage and stroked her lovingly while she nipped him affectionately.

Sighing audibly, he returned to his bed and looked with distaste at the untidy pile of spellbooks, parchment and quills which adorned his bed. He was working on the essay for his least favorite teacher, Professor Snape. He had put it off all summer and now he was stuck doing it at the last moment. With resignation, he settled himself amongst the clutter and delved back into the essay with renewed fervor, intent on completing it before he went to the Burrow the next day.

He had been working for no more than fifteen minutes when the silence was again broken by the shrill sound of a phone ringing. Trying very hard not to scream out loud, Harry fought the urge to bang his head against the wall. He supposed that he should be used to the phone by now, since he lived with muggles and that was the way they communicated, but it seemed to him that it rang at the most inopportune times.

"And they complain about owls hooting when I get post from friends," He said, looking at Hedwig, who hooted in reply, "That blasted phone is as annoying, or more annoying, than a owl hooting any day."

The phone rang only two times and then was silent. Downstairs he could hear the muffled voice of his aunt talking, and once again the previous sounds of schoolwork returned. He knew that no one would be calling for him...they had done that once in his earlier years at Hogwarts and Uncle Vernon had put an immediate stop to it.

He had completed his essay at last when he heard footsteps coming down the hall to his room. He hadn't heard a car pull up into the driveway, so he knew that it was only his aunt. There was no need to hide his schoolbooks and homework, but he did stack everything neatly and readied it for his trunk.

A barely audible knock came at the door, and he thought he heard the sound of soft sobbing. A concerned look crossed his face as he stood and opened the door, and the sight that met his eyes caused all kinds of mixed emotions.

Petunia's eyes were red and puffy, her cheeks wet with tears. She shook visibly and was having trouble keeping herself upright.

His arm around her waist, supporting her weight with his body, Harry helped her over to his bed. When he was sure that she wasn't going to lose consciousness, he got her a cup of water from the bathroom. Placing it in her hand, along wihthe sat down next to her and waited until she was ready.

Petunia, filled with gratitude for Harry's kindness, lifted her shaking hand holding the cup to her lips and sipped the water, spilling a good portion of it onto her dress.

The obviously diminished mental state of his aunt worried Harry, he had never seen her like this before. He was wondering if he should call the medics or something of that sort when he heard her clear her throat.

Her sad eyes upon Harry, Petunia dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief and took a long, shuddering breath, "Harry, your Uncle Vernon and Dudley were in an accident. Dudley was very badly injured, and your uncle..." Sobs concluded the sentence, revealing the fate of Vernon.

Laying a comforting hand upon his aunt's shoulder, Harry didn't know what to say. There had never been any love lost between his uncle and him, and though he felt a bit of sorrow over the passing of another human being, it was no more than he would feel for a stranger.

Regaining her composure to some extent, Petunia looked at Harry imploringly, her eyes reminding him of a puppy dog begging for food, "Harry, I need to ask you something. You have the right to refuse this, but I need to ask," Petunia's deep breath was audible in the quiet room, "Dudley needs to have surgery and a blood transfusion very badly. Would you be willing to come to the hospital with me and see if you are a match?"

Harry's mind and heart were filled with many conflicting emotions. Flashes of the cruel things that Dudley had done to him over the years went through his memory. He pictured his cousin laying in a hospital bed, possibly dying. The look on the face of his aunt was more than he could bear. He knew that, even though Dudley had mistreated him over and over again in the past that, he had to do what he could for him.

Before speaking a word, he put his arms around her in a strong embrace, "Aunt Petunia, I will come with you and see if I can help Dudley."

Tears of relief and gratitude flowed down Petunia's face as she hugged her nephew back, he had given her the answer that she had barely hoped for, "All right, we need to get to the hospital so we'll take the tube and hopefully we can get there in time."

Harry had been on the tube only a couple of times before, since they never wanted to take him anywhere. He looked over at his aunt sitting beside him, and saw the pain on her face. She had just lost her husband and now may lose her son if they didn't get there in time.

"Aunt Petunia?" Harry said, looking over at his aunt and wondering how he would respond to what he said next.

"Yes, Harry?" She said, blotting her eyes with her handkerchief.

"I...I just hope I can help him, that's all," Harry said, amending what he was about to say. He was about to tell his aunt that it was possible that if he gave Dudley his blood that he might pass his powers on to him through it, but he had a feeling that it really wouldn't be an issue at this point in time.

When they finally arrived at the hospital, they took some blood from Harry and found that it was indeed a match for Dudley. They took a pint of blood from Harry and wheeled Dudley off to surgery.

The hours passed like days, until the doctor came out and told them that Dudley was going to make it. Petunia sobs of happiness and relief were heard throughout the halls of the hospital.

Harry wondered what exactly this would change, if anything, about his relationship with Dudley. Would his cousin be grateful? Would he stop bullying him? As it was, Harry had no idea what was in store...


	2. Chapter 2

Blood Ties

Chapter 2 Ghostly Echoes

Harry returned to the house while his aunt stayed at the hospital with Dudley. His cousin was out of immediate danger but his condition was still precarious. His footsteps echoed through the house, which now resembled a museum. Every picture, every piece of furniture was a reminder of the man whose presence had filled the house like a choking fog used by an exterminator.

_"Shut that bloody bird up!"_

_"I warn you, boy, any funny business and you won't eat for a week!"_

_"Clean up this house, boy. Do you think your aunt was put here to be your slave?"_

The harsh words of his uncle echoed through Harry's mind. Running his hand through his hair, he imitated his father in a perfect fashion. He also recalled the arguments that his aunt and uncle had had when they didn't think he could hear.

_"Vernon, don't you think you're being too hard on Harry? He can't help what he is."_

_"Petunia, are you saying that he has a right to do what he does? Must I remind you of the time that he bloody well blew up my sister?"_

_"No, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that punishing him isn't going to make things better, it will only make them worse."_

Sometimes these arguments were followed by a slap, other times they were followed by sobbing. The words were not verbatim each time, but their context was the same.

Chimes from the grandfather clock in the hall alerted Harry that it was 9 in the evening. A loud growl from his stomach reminded Harry that he had not eaten since lunchtime and that before he sent Hedwig with messages to his friends he needed to eat.

Stepping into unknown territory, Harry went to the refrigerator and realized that he could take anything he wanted to eat without the fear of repercussions from his uncle. He saw that the refrigerator was getting low on food, that must have been where Vernon and Dudley were headed when they met with their fate.

He found meat, cheese and bread and made himself a sandwich, then took it upstairs to his room. His footsteps echoed on the staircase, sounding much like the reports of a canon in the empty house.

Opening the door of Hedwig's cage with a squeak, Harry sat down on his bed to write Ron a letter, not sure what he was going to say. He decided that he wasn't going to tell him the whole story, that he would save that for when he saw him.

_Dear Ron,_

_I realize that it's late, but since we're on holidays still I'm figuring you are still awake. I will be a bit late getting to The Burrow. I can't explain now, but we have had a family emergency and I need to stay here for another week. I'll let you know when I am coming and we can all go to Diagon Alley together as we planned._

_Thanks for understanding,_

_Harry_

Harry sent the letter off with Hedwig, then sat for several minutes with his head in his hand, not knowing what to say or do. He felt curiously numb inside; one of the people who had been the bane of his existence ever since he had come to live at 4 Privet Drive was dead, and the other one was in the hospital badly injured. A sane person would be rejoicing, but Harry was neither insane nor rejoicing. He hadn't realized that the death of his uncle would make him feel this way.

A soft hooting captured his attention and snapped him out of his thoughts. Lines of confusion creased his face as he looked up in time to see Hermes fly into his open window and drop a parchment into his lap. Recognizing the writing as Arthur Weasley's, he opened the letter and his jaw nearly hit his stomach as he read it.

_Dear Harry,_

_I am very sorry to hear of your uncle's passing. I am sure you are wondering how I know of this, and the reason is simple. Your uncle's 'accident' was no accident but rather the work of Death Eaters. You must warn your aunt that they may come after her next. _

_Advise her that if she so wishes the Ministry will help her with the arrangements for your uncle so that she can be kept safe. More details to follow. Please once again accept our sympathy for your uncle's death._

_Sincerely,_

_Arthur Weasley_

It felt as though time had stood still. Harry's gaze was fixed upon the parchment, his hand holding it up to his eyes so that he could read it properly. He didn't know how long he sat there that way, but after a fashion the words became blurry and unreadable, one word melting into the next.

With a shake of his head he cleared his vision and turned his attention to the sandwich he had made. The bread had taken on an unpleasant texture while his attention had been diverted, which told him that he had been zoned out for at least a half an hour.

Answering his stomach's rumbling protests of emptiness, he ate his sandwich without tasting it. His uncle had been murdered by Death Eaters, and they would more than likely go after his aunt next, if they first didn't attempt to finish the job on Dudley.

Standing up, he paced restlessly around the room. He knew that he had to warn his aunt, but he didn't know when she would be home or how he could warn her without raising suspicions at the hospital...

The telephone! He could call the hospital and ask to be patched through to Dudley's room. Racing downstairs, he found the number in the phone book and dialed it, asking to be put through to Dudley Dursley's room. It wasn't long before his aunt's weary voice came on the other end.

"Aunt Petunia, it's Harry. I don't have a lot of time to explain, but you need to listen to me carefully. You remember Arthur Weasley, right? He and some of his children came to get me for the Tri Wizard tournament a few years ago," Waiting impatiently for her answer, Harry nodded, "Right, the guy with the red hair. I got an owl from him tonight and Aunt Petunia? It wasn't a normal accident. It was the work of some of HIS followers."

Harry could hear her gasp of astonishment and waited to speak some more until she could hear him, "I want you to stay at the hospital. I don't care what you tell them but they need to get security in Dudley's room. Do NOT let anyone but doctors and nurses you know go in there. I'm going to Ron's and see what I can do about getting you some help."

Petunia's sobs were heart wrenching to Harry, and he wished that he could do more but he knew that the best way to help her was to see what he could do on his end. Saying goodbye to his aunt, he hung up and tried to figure out what he should do next.

Remembering the trip he had made on the Knight bus years ago, he grabbed his wand and opened his Hogwarts trunk, making sure that he had a bit of wizard money to pay for his ride.

Securely latching his trunk, he left the house and went out on Privet Drive, sticking out his right arm. Out of nowhere a purple triple decker bus appeared. Knowing there was no time to lose, he hurriedly told Ernie The Burrow.

_A/N Thank you Jonathan for the suggestion about the Death Eaters. _


End file.
